Atom Investors LP Sells 11,024 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Atom Investors LP trimmed its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,030 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 11,024 shares during the period. Atom Investors LP's holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $4,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,240,436 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $504,658,000 after purchasing an additional 78,800 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,074,269 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $429,145,000 after acquiring an additional 13,631 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,715,050 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $386,315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494,872 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 11.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,183,121 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $244,776,000 after acquiring an additional 126,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 6.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 461,937 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $95,570,000 after acquiring an additional 26,859 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AVB shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. BNP Paribas started coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank cut their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $228.67.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB stock traded down $4.55 during trading on Monday, reaching $230.80. 652,293 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 719,901. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $32.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.97. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.37 and a twelve month high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AvalonBay Communities news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total transaction of $528,576.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 111,436 shares in the company, valued at $26,051,508.08. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 299 apartment communities containing 90,669 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which 18 communities were under development. The Company is an equity REIT in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing apartment communities in leading metropolitan areas in New England, the New York/New Jersey Metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest, and Northern and Southern California, as well as in the Company's expansion regions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina, Southeast Florida, Dallas and Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado.